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Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:3-4; 8:9-11; Phil. 3:9-11
Prayer: Lord, we worship You. You have gathered us again to open up Your word to us. We are open to You and are ready to receive You and Your word. We want to know Your resurrection in the spirit. Be with us. Be one spirit with us at this time so that we can be one spirit with You. Lord, be gracious to us, and pour Yourself out upon us and into us that we would have good fellowship in You and receive the best supply from You. Lord, grant us the word, the expression, and the utterance that You may freely speak what You want to speak and that we may touch Your will in a real way, that we could be those who are in Your heart in this age and who take this way of resurrection in spirit.
Lord, lead us, not only during these days of the training but all the days of our lives, so that we would be in Your Spirit. Thank You that You are strengthening our inner man step by step so that we could be persons in this age fulfilling Your purpose by building up the Body of Christ. Lord, oppose and destroy the enemy for us, and cover us with Your victorious blood. We hide in You under the covering of Your blood. Fight for us. We want to behold Your victory. Although we are still under sufferings and attacks, we enjoy You and experience You in a real way every day. Lord, make everything we hear real to us, and make everything that You show us true to us. We declare once again that You are the Lord. You are the sovereign One, and You are even the victorious One. We are here following You. Our hearts are set. Our wills are strengthened. Our spirits are high. We open our mouths to praise You, to sing lauds to You, to exalt Your name, to testify and speak of You everywhere, and to dispense You to others. Lord, speak to us directly now. Amen!
This chapter is a continuation of the last chapter. In the last chapter we covered the matter of our service being in the spirit and with the spirit as the sphere and the element. Moreover, we serve by this spirit. This spirit is the noblest part of our whole being. We the saved ones are not only created but are regenerated as well. Jesus has passed through all the processes and has accomplished everything, adding humanity to Himself and uplifting humanity and bringing it into His divinity, so that humanity may receive the life of God in His divinity. Today He is the firstborn Son of God with both divinity and humanity in Him. This is not all. He has been processed and is consummated as the life-giving Spirit. Not only is the Holy Spirit of God in Him; the complete Triune God is now in this life-giving Spirit. Now this Spirit abides in us. How noble and transcendent is this One in us today! The Lord of the universe, the Triune God, who has passed through all the processes to become the life-giving Spirit, is now in our spirit. We receive this truth not by our feelings nor by our mentality but as a spiritual fact.
A spiritual fact is a mysterious matter. We need the mercy of God to have this substantiated into a reality through His being in us as our faith (Heb. 11:1). For example, in our body there are many facts that we can neither see nor feel. We acknowledge these organic mysteries in the body not by feeling but by the facts. In the same way God purposely created a spirit for man at the time of creation to receive Him as life and as the food of life. Hence, whenever we mention God, we have to be in the spirit. Outside the spirit we cannot serve God, and we cannot worship God. He is Spirit, and we must worship Him with the spirit in us, which is the same as His nature. When we exercise our spirit, it is like touching electricity with a piece of metal; immediately electricity is passed through to our hand. The lesson of serving in the spirit is one that everyone who desires to serve the Lord has to learn from youth. We have to continually practice touching God with our spirit.
Man is always confused in his perception of spiritual things. There is always the lack of power of discernment. Truth is not received. On the contrary, rumors are taken to be true. The reason for this is that there is a shortage in the knowledge of the spirit. Since 1980 the Lord has shown us God’s New Testament economy, which is the Triune God dispensing Himself into the three parts of the believers. We have repeated this point again and again and have even published many messages. However, not only are these messages not spoken of in Christianity, but even among us not many are speaking them. Many times what spreads fastest are the rumors. Some are even saying that every local church is a Body. We know that as far as congregations are concerned, there can be thousands upon thousands of them. But as far as the Body is concerned, Christ has only one Body. In the human body there is nothing autonomous or federated. In the body there is only the circulation of the blood. One can never divide the body.
As a matter of fact, the apostles never abandoned the churches after they established the elders. Paul not only wrote letters to the churches and visited them, but he also stayed in Ephesus for three years. According to the record in Acts 20, during Paul’s last journey to visit Jerusalem, in the midst of his busy schedule, he sent men to Ephesus to invite the elders; he spoke to them, telling them that from the first day that he set foot in Asia he taught them publicly and from house to house (vv. 18-20). Within Paul’s charge there were also exhortations and warnings. He did this not only to the church in Ephesus but to the church in Corinth as well. Actually, every letter of Paul’s was written to churches where elders were already established.
After Paul appointed elders in every place, even though he might not have been able to visit those places personally, he wrote letters to fellowship with them. He said to the church in Corinth, “The rest I will set in order when I come” (1 Cor. 11:34). If the apostles took their hands off the churches after the elders were appointed, to whom then were all the Epistles in the New Testament written? Paul said that “the anxious concern for all the churches” pressed upon him daily (2 Cor. 11:28). Some among us have misapplied the words of Brother Watchman Nee in his book The Normal Christian Church Life, claiming that the apostles should not touch anything in a local church after they have appointed the elders. Those saying these kinds of things have not read Brother Nee’s book Church Affairs, written ten years later. In that book Brother Nee says that after the apostles have appointed the elders, they still have to stay there to teach and to lead the elders, showing them how things should be done. If we do not check with the Bible and do not verify the facts, we will easily take in all kinds of hearsay.
Paul told the Ephesian believers to be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men. This teaching is based on man’s craftiness with a view to a system of error. This is a crafty work (Eph. 4:14). This morning I want you to know that the reason Christianity is divided into so many denominations is that no one is calm before the Lord in their spirit. The spirit is most noble and transcends everything. It is not affected by human emotions. On the contrary, it influences our emotion, our love, and our natural inclinations. If you are not willing to use your spirit and would not live in the spirit but would walk only according to the preference of the soul, you will surely be deceived. On the other hand, if you are not in the emotion or in the natural preference but are walking according to your spirit, you will be saved from deception. You young ones have just come into the Lord’s recovery. There is a long way ahead of you. I hope that you would learn to use your spirit right from the beginning.
You are going down to the villages for the spread of the gospel in January of next year. Each team will have twenty people working for two weeks in a place. After that, two will stay behind to care for the newly baptized ones. Suppose the leading brothers make an arrangement that is not that proper. For the first two weeks you may serve grudgingly. But after two months the discontent may grow stronger and stronger within you. The wall of anger may become higher than the Great Wall of China. What should you do then? It is not easy to turn to the spirit then. If someone were to say to you that you should not be suppressed by others, that you should be autonomous, and that you should not come under the restriction of coordination, the words will become very appealing to you and will suit your appetite very well. You may think, “Let us all be autonomous!”
In the Bible there is a case of co-workers being divided in their ways. Acts 9 shows us that after Paul was saved, no one dared to receive him (v. 26). It was Barnabas who sought him out and brought him to Antioch (11:25-26). They met together in the church there for a full year. In chapter 14 we see Barnabas and Paul appointing elders in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch and strengthening the disciples there. By chapter 15 the two of them went to Jerusalem to solve the problem of circumcision. Later, they intended to visit the brothers and to see how they were doing. Barnabas was determined to bring along Mark his cousin, but Paul considered it unsuitable to take Mark along because Mark withdrew from them in Pamphylia and did not co-work with them any longer. A sharp contention arose between Barnabas and Paul, so much so that the two separated from each other (vv. 38-39). From that time on, Acts no longer records the name of Barnabas. Never be too confident that you have been trained for four terms and that there are no more problems. Actually, Barnabas was a good brother. When others were reluctant to receive Paul, he sought Paul out. Barnabas had also sold his field and brought the sum of money and placed it at the feet of the apostles (4:36-37). Acts 14 calls Paul and Barnabas “the apostles” (v. 14). Even such a good brother could deviate from the Lord’s way if he did not live in the spirit.
I would like to mention to you in passing that some Brethren teachers say that only those who have seen the Lord Jesus can be considered as the apostles. This kind of saying is not correct. Not only was Barnabas who had not seen the Lord called an apostle, but even Timothy, Titus, and Silas were also called apostles. None of these persons had seen the Lord. In addition, none of the three, Timothy, Titus, and Silas, received direct revelation from the Lord. They were all apostles produced by Paul. They were apostles produced by other apostles. I mentioned during the elders’ meeting three weeks ago that there are different kinds of apostles. Some are produced directly by the Lord. Others are produced by other apostles. This question has been studied for over two hundred years, since the time of Zinzendorf. When the Lord raised us up in China, we considered the matter afresh. As a result we arrived at the light and revelation that we have now. Every one of you needs to have a fearful and sober attitude. The scope of truth is too broad. Our understanding is too limited. We should not make judgments based on our little understanding.
Do not receive rumors, hearsay, and lies. I have met a lot of these kinds of situations during my time of co-working with Watchman Nee for twenty years. Today you should receive grace to be one who serves the Lord. You must keep yourself preserved and live in the spirit. Although it is not easy to turn to the spirit when you are angry, you still have to do it. Paul prays in Ephesians 3, “I bow my knees unto the Father...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man” (vv. 14-16). Paul prays that the Lord would strengthen the believers with His power through His Spirit into their inner man. When we are angry, we are in the soul and in ourselves. To turn back to the spirit in an instant requires the apostle’s prayer for us. There is the need for God to strengthen us according to the riches of His glory with power and through the Spirit into our spirit. This is a lesson that we must learn.
In a situation like today’s, all the rumors outside should not be taken. Actually, since the time of Paul, the church has been in confusion. We can see this from the Epistles, which the apostles wrote to all the places. When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, there were many problems in the church there. When John wrote to the believers, he said, “Do not believe every spirit” (1 John 4:1). Do not think that today is a clear day. There are indeed clear days in the church life, but there are also dark days. Sometimes there are even stormy days. For this reason you have to learn to walk constantly in the spirit. Only by being in the spirit can you touch God. Only by being in the spirit can you be preserved. In the same way, only when you are in the spirit can you touch others’ spirits during your contact with them. Only when you speak in the spirit will you be able to touch others’ spirits and enliven them. Whatever you do apart from the spirit, whether it be good or bad, produces the same result. Whatever you do outside the spirit is done in the natural man. When you hate others, you are being natural, but even your love for others is natural. Your pride is natural. Your humility is also.
The opposite of being natural is being in resurrection. God is never natural. God wants only resurrection. The natural being is represented in the Bible by the first one. The firstborn is the first one. Hence, God does not want the firstborn. At the passover the angel of destruction struck the firstborn (Exo. 12:29). Were all the firstborn of Egypt bad? It was not a question of being good or bad. As long as it was a firstborn, it was natural and had to be struck. By the end of Revelation John says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away” (21:1). The first heaven and first earth are of the old creation. The New Jerusalem, the new heaven, the new earth, and everything that is new are second. The book of Hebrews calls the old covenant the first covenant and the second covenant the new covenant (9:15). Everything that is old is natural. If you are not in the spirit, even your good deeds are natural. I am afraid that even in preaching the gospel, you may not be in spirit. If that is the case, then even such a good thing may have the possibility of being in the natural realm. There is only one realm we should be in, the realm of resurrection.
My words today are mainly warnings. I want you to know that today there is confusion. Winds are blowing from all directions. When you go out to work, there is only one place that is your best sheltering harbor. This place is your spirit. You have to turn to your spirit. Whatever you hear, you have to turn to your spirit. You have to listen in spirit, and you have to consider in your spirit. If you would practice this, it will become a habit to you, and you will not want to speak, move, or say anything apart from the spirit. When you turn to the spirit, you will be delivered from your natural being and will enter into resurrection. The light of the New Testament shows us that the reality of resurrection is the Spirit of Christ. Romans 1 says that, according to the flesh, the Lord Jesus came out of the seed of David but that, according to the Spirit of holiness, He was designated the Son of God in power out of the resurrection of the dead (vv. 3-4). Paul said that according to the nature of the Spirit within the Lord, He was designated in resurrection. This resurrection is the result of the operation of the Spirit. Resurrection is the expression of the Spirit’s operation within you. Any expression that does not result from the operation of the Spirit is not resurrection but rather is natural.
For us who fear the Lord and are genuinely learning to follow Him, nothing is a misfortune. Even misfortunes are turned into blessings. Brother Nee always said that all we have to fear is the loss of the blessing of the Lord. When the blessing of the Lord is not there, even the things that are most right are wrong. But when the blessing of the Lord is there, even the wrong things become right. Fortune and misfortune lie in God’s sovereign hands. When you go out to the villages next January, without God’s sovereign permission, no wrong will befall you. To accept a seemingly wrong arrangement is something that the natural man cannot do. Then you have to pray. The more you pray, the more you will be delivered from the natural being into the spirit. In the end, the spirit will operate, and you will be moved immediately from the natural being into resurrection. Resurrection will become your power. The power of death is known to be unconquerable. When death comes, no one can resist its visit. But resurrection is able to overcome death. All that Satan can use is death. But today we are in resurrection. Resurrection can destroy death. Resurrection has the power to counter the poison of death. When you go out to preach the gospel, you must not be in the natural realm. If you are in the natural realm, you are in the death realm of Satan. If you are not in the natural realm, you will be in spirit. Once you are in spirit, you will be in resurrection. Resurrection vanquishes all death.
A good gospel booklet or a suitable gospel tract is not what saves people. When you go out to preach the gospel, you have to depend on your spirit. You must preach the gospel with your spirit. If you preach the gospel in spirit, your preaching will be in reality and in resurrection. Resurrection is the spirit, and the spirit is the reality of resurrection. The Pentecostal Christians claim that they have received power. Actually, they have not yet truly come into the reality of the indwelling Spirit. True spiritual power lies in the life-giving Spirit who is the consummation of the Triune God. Today this life-giving Spirit is fully in resurrection. The light of the New Testament shows us that even God Himself is processed. Before God was processed, God had no humanity. He had not passed through death and had not yet come through death into resurrection. Strictly speaking, God cannot die; He is immortal (1 Tim. 6:16). God had no humanity; He was not qualified to die. But in order to accomplish redemption, He put on humanity, entered death, and came out of death to be consummated as the life-giving Spirit. Without the Spirit there is no resurrection. Resurrection is in your spirit. Today the Spirit of Christ is in resurrection. We should have a proper understanding of this.
The processes that the processed Triune God went through are the putting on of humanity, the entering into death, and the coming out in resurrection. Once He came into resurrection, the Triune God, who bore humanity with Him, became the life-giving Spirit in resurrection. This Spirit is the reality of resurrection. We have to learn to live in this Spirit. In this way we will be in resurrection. The power of resurrection is unconquerable. Only resurrection can overcome death. Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The resurrection operating in us today is this Spirit. Romans 8 says clearly that this is “the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead” (v. 11). This Spirit is linked with resurrection. In other words, it is the Spirit who is the resurrection and who has become our resurrection. This Spirit is with you. When you live and move in this Spirit, you are in resurrection. Resurrection is an invincible power; it cannot be overcome by death. For this reason, when you go out to preach the gospel, you must be in spirit. When you open up your mouth in the spirit, the Spirit will go out with you, and your word will become invincible.
The way to be in the spirit is to pray. Many Christians have a wrong concept about prayer. They think that to pray is to beg God and to beseech God to do something for them. The main emphasis of prayer is not in the realm of things. The main point in prayer is to pray yourself out from the natural being. There are so many rumors because there are too few people who pray. If you are a praying person, you will never believe lightly in the rumors. All those who hear rumors and spread them are superficial people. Only those who pray much and remain in the spirit are weighty. You have to be exercised in this matter.
I hope that you will not forget the story of Pentecost. After the disciples saw the Lord Jesus ascending to heaven, they returned to Jerusalem. There the one hundred twenty did nothing but pray in one accord for ten days. Before you go out to the villages, you should pick up the burden to pray. Do not pray for so many things. The Lord Jesus said that the Father knows all the material needs (Matt. 6:8). You have to learn to pray in the spirit. Ephesians 6 says, “Praying at every time in spirit” (v. 18). The more you follow the Lord to pray in spirit, the more you will be delivered from the natural being into the spirit. In this way you will be in resurrection, and you will have the position and the qualification to work for the Lord. By then, all your move, work, and words will be in resurrection. You will be a most solid person and will have the highest discernment.
When you go to the villages, the first thing to learn is to pray. Pray yourself from the natural being into the spirit. In this way you will be a weighty person. You will have God in your spirit, and you will be able to discern all things. This will keep you in harmony and in oneness and will become your strength and even your stand. When you contact others, there will be the impact. The point to watch in our work is that the worker himself must be delivered from the natural being to enter into resurrection so that he will become a weighty person. In this way it will not be difficult for you to get along with others. If you stand on the proper ground in your work, and if you have the proper means and live in the proper sphere in your service, you will be one who serves the Lord in resurrection.
